I spent a few hours with Betty on Thursday. She is a funny girl. She has a house mama nearly all to herself (wow!) so she is a little spoiled. (Imagine that at an orphanage....). She appears to be the right size for an 18 month old, that is, she doesn't look small to me. Maybe a little, but not abnormally. I met with the orphanage director when I got there. He was sweet and told me, "you know, she could die". Um, yes. I know that. He told me Betty's story and how she was very sick before meds and now, on anti-viral, she is thriving and meeting milestones. He then asked me to meet with her nurse who assured me she is doing great. Then off to play. Betty is happy and loves to hug her teddy bear. She babbles some but it is hard for me to tell if it is abnormal or just sounds different because Ugandan sounds different. (HIV in young kids can cause brain damage). After a couple of hours together, we had to go. Betty was NOT happy about that. She chased me down the stairs and wailed when we tried to walk away. I decided to carry her into the playground so other kids would distract her from my departure. It worked. For her......

The weird thing is that I have met dozens of adorable children on this trip. Beautiful and healthy. Normal. Betty is cute but she is damaged by the disease and it shows. She is far from the cutest baby I saw and even further from the healthiest. But she's the one that's in my heart. (Sigh).

I met with an adoption attorney on Saturday. Despite legal issues with adoption in Uganda (more on that in a separate post) the attorney told me that I would get an immediate order for adoption (not guardianship) for Betty and a fast Visa given her health. She could be home in a matter of weeks after my decision.

So I pray on. Trusting God will make this clear and soon. Because if Betty is my "Leah Grace" the sooner she gets home the better.